We are still in the midst of what is being called “Snowageddon” and “Snowpocalypse,” referring to the historical snowfall amounts of recent weeks. Our state is being referred to as “Alaskachusetts” with “The Boston Tundra” as its capital.

The Weather Channel noted that our region has beaten the written record of more than one hundred years for the amount of snow presently on the ground. In fact, some of the drifts in our yard are at least eight feet tall.

Interestingly, there are many birds around. The clever robins have found the one holly bush that is not totally covered in snow. It’s fun to see them fly/dive into the center of the bush and emerge with a red berries in their beaks. There was a time when we never saw robins in our region in the winter. Now they’re very common.

If we ever finish shoveling our walks and driveway, knocking down the humongous icicles off our gutters, and mopping up the various water leaks in the house, we may get to peruse some of the review copies of gardening books recently received from publishers. Among them: “Garden-pedia, An A-to-Z Guide to Gardening Terms” by Pamela Bennett and Maria Zampini (St. Lynn’s Press); “The Right-Size Flower Garden” by Kerry Ann Mendez (St. Lynn’s Press); and “America’s Romance with the English Garden” by Thomas J. Mickey (Ohio University Press), to name a few.

I may also start to plan our 2015 vegetable garden and work on a “must-have” list.

Maybe this will be a year that I try to grow some blue poppies from seed for the umpteenth time. Alas, I’ve always failed in the past.